Gingerbread Houses

Here is our adventure in some good old fashioned family fun! We made gingerbread houses and it was a lot of messy fun! I highly recommend making them as a family activity today!

A few helpful tips
* mix up a can of frosting with about a cup of powdered sugar - it turns it in to a nice edible cement!
* use tongue depressors or craft sticks to spread the frosting as needed.
* put the frosting in a sandwich bag and snip a tiny corner off to pipe on the frosting.
* make sure you are having fun! Don't try to "help" too much and let everyone use their creativity!

Advent Week 3

Can it be the third week of Advent already? Amazing!

The third week of advent is the week of Joy!

We light the 2 purple candles and the pink candle today.

Read Isaiah 9:6-7 and Philippians 2:1-11

Say a prayer and blow out the candles.

The good deed for the day is to think of a joyous moment in your life and share it with someone!

Some other ideas for this week
- Visit an elderly person this week. Yes, again. Listen to their stories. You will be happy you did!
- Bake some cookies - here is a good recipe to try
- Sing Joy To The World. Sing it loud! Sing with someone. Seriously, do it!
- Make a manger scene. Here are a few to look at but don't forget to throw in some creativity of your own!
- Donate your time to a local charity.
- Get your family together and go caroling...it is a lost art but trust me, people still LOVE it!

Ysabelle Dirt

My sweet, sweet Ysabelle has some very unfortunate hair right now.
I may have mentioned it before.
She has very fine, thin, wispy hair.
I have been patiently waiting for it to "fill in" or to "thicken up".
I have run out of patience.
It has been 2 years now people!
It is very similar to the rockin' mullet of Joe Dirt.
A little too similar.
Much too similar.
It was time to take matters in to my own hands...
Or in to the hands of a skilled professional.
Today I took her to see my dear friend Tara to have her hair "fixed".
I think the results are FABULOUS!
What do you think????

Tortillas

My Nanita used to make the BEST tortillas! From the time I was old enough to sit up she would let me "help" her make them. There are pictures of me sitting on her counter in my underwear covered in flour! She would make a huge batch of dough and then cook them on a hot plate on the stove. She used to tell me she had no feeling in her finger tips and that was how she was able to flip them without burning herself. Since I still had feeling in my finger tips I just had to watch that part!

There is nothing better than a homemade tortilla fresh off the hot plate!!!

I have been longing to have a fresh tortilla lately. Actually, I have had an aching in soul to make any type of bread lately but mostly the tortillas. I decided to try my hand at homemade tortillas the other day.

My camera is out of commission so I had to snap a picture with my phone.
I apologize for the quality of the picture but I am actually hoping it makes my tortilla look a little better.

I don't remember my Nanita's tortillas looking like a map of the United States...

I remember them being round, circular, orb like, sphereical...

My tortillas were not round at all but they sure did taste pretty good! I will have to practice a bit - I hope one day I make so many of them that I no longer have feeling in my finger tips either, just like my Nanita!

Advent Week 2

This is the second week of Advent and it is the week of PEACE

We light the first and second purple candles today.

Read Micah 5 : 2 and Matthew 2 : 1-11

Say a prayer and extinguish the candles.

The good deed for today is to hug someone. I do not think we hug people enough these days. I hug my children and my husband all the time but can you really hug them too much? Personal contact can mean so much to someone. Can you think of someone outside of your home that might need a hug today?

Some other ideas for this week
- drink some eggnog - it is festive and yummy!
- watch It's A Wonderful Life - it is my favorite Christmas movie!
- make an ornament - any kind. Have fun and be creative.
- visit an elderly person. I know it was on the list last week. It should be on the list every week!
- sing a Christmas carol as a family by candle light
- call a family member or old friend that you havent spoken with in a while. Email does NOT count. It must be voice to voice, a real live conversation!

O Christmas Tree

Each year we go out on our family quest for the perfect Christmas tree. Last year I was in search of a picture perfect, memory making, Norman Rockwell Christmas. I have to say it really was perfect! But, could it possibly happen again? I was almost afraid to think about it let alone have the audacity to wish for it out loud! This year I decided to aim a little lower and simply ask for a nice tree at a good price with no tears. I was skeptical, this is less than a perfect tree outing wish, but still a tall order.

We started out needing white lights for the tree so we headed to the hardware store. The kids were not thrilled to have to make a pit stop before the tree lot but there were no tears and minimal eye rolling. Bonus! We went in and found the perfect lights and they were on sale!!!!

We then headed over to Starbucks. Remember when tree lots had free hot cocoa? What happened to that? Those were good days. Anyway, it just seems more festive to go to a tree lot with hot cocoa so we all went in to Starbucks. That's right. All 7 of us trekked in to Starbucks. I should make a poll for this post titled
the "How Many People asked Us If They Are 'All Yours?'" poll.
Ah, I never get sick of that question < insert sarcasm >
I have to say it went very well - we ordered one venti Christmas blend black coffee, one grande no water chai with one pump of the decadent caramel brulee, 2 ciders, 2 vanilla steamers and one hot cocoa with a shot of caramel - bonus points if you know who ordered what!

Then we went to the tree lot.
This is where the real trouble can begin to brew.
Who will find the perfect tree?
Who will get to it first?
How many will agree that it is perfect?
How many will cry that it isn't perfect?
The following is a true account of what happened that day.....
We walked on the lot. We told the kids to pick a tree with a yellow tag - about 6 feet tall. They all ran around together looking at trees. Bryan said "Hey kids, what about this one?". Then the most amazing thing happened.
There were cheers!
Smiles!
Laughter!
And then it happened...They all agreed it was the perfect tree!!!
And then and there we all witnessed the great Christmas miracle of '09!!!
2 years in a row!
No tears!
No fighting!
No yelling!
May God Bless Us Everyone!

Advent

The word Advent is Latin for "the coming". It is a time of spiritual reflection and joyful anticipation. Our family celebrates Advent by reading the scriptures, lighting a candle, and doing good deeds for those around us. Some people have an Advent calender and some have an Advent wreath. I like the wreath, it feels more symbolic to me and I am sort of a traditional gal that way. If you go the wreath route you will need 5 candles, 3 purple, one rose and one white. This year I am going to decorate my candle holder using some clippings from the magnolia tree in my yard and maybe some fresh herbs to make it look a little wreathyer (yes, I'm pretty sure that is a word!).
Check in every Sunday if you'd like to join us!

The first Sunday of Advent gives us the message of HOPE.

We light one purple candle and read Isaiah 7:13-14 and Luke 1:26-38



Say a prayer and extinguish the candle.


Today's good deed is to clean up something for someone else. You can do a chore that someone else normally does, rake the neighbors leaves or hep clean up a mess that you didn't make. Remember to do it in love and with a smile on your face!


Here are some other ideas for this week
-bake a plate of cookies for a neighbor
-visit an elderly person
-play a game as a family
-make a wreath -  paper, fresh greens, candy, tissue paper - any type, just have fun !
-put a Christmas CD in the car and play it all week
-write a Christmas card to someone special and stick it in the mail


I love the Advent season and I pray that you celebrate in a way that brings you a renewed spirit and joyful heart!